Jamin



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G, H. BENJAMIN. ELECTRIC RAILWAY TROLLEY.

No. 506,463. Patented Oct. 10, 1893.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. HfBENJAM I -N. ELECTRIC RAILWAY TROLLEY.

No. 506,463. PatentedOct. 10,1893. I

Q1 1 i w INVENTOR GEORGE H. BENJAMIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SIEMENS &

' HALSKE, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,463, dated October 10,1893.

Serial No.- 479,200. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HILLARD BEN- JAMIN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric railways, and more especially to so-called trolleys as carried by an electro motive vehicle and used for the purpose of establishing electrical connection between a conductor arranged in the vicinity of the line of rails on which the vehicle travels, and an electro motor upon the vehicle.

In the operation of electric railroads at high speed, it has been practically demonstrated that all forms of contact trolleys at present in use are objectionable for various reasons. If a contact trolley is employed which makes a rubbing connection with the working conductor, the heat caused by the frictional reslstance has been found sufficient to draw the temper of the conductor and to effect its rapid destruction. In the case of a trolley formed as a rotating wheel, the great rapidity of revo- 1ut1on of the wheel, which must necessarily be of small size, is productive of trouble at the wheel bearings, it being difficult to make a bearing which will allow the wheel to be rapidly revolved without causing a great deal of heat.

The object of my invention is to provide a contact device or trolley for electric railways,-especially those operated at high speedwhich will collect the current from the working conductor and convey it to the motor upon the'vehicle without the liability of the contact device itself being destroyed, or without acting destructively upon the working conductor. To accomplish this result, I provide upon the outer end of the trolley arm or trailer, a contact device which in its preferred form carries a body or'bodies which are kept constantly saturated with a llquid. Thus, when the contact device is in relation with the working conductor, an electrical circuit is established through the instrumentality of the liquid which saturates the body. In connection with the contactdevice I provide means for maintaining a constant supply of liquid thereto, and means for preventing freezing of the liquid to assure electrical conductivity from the working conductor to the vehicle motor in any or all kinds of weather.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention, similar refer ence numerals indicate corresponding parts.

Figure 1 is a view in sectional side elevation showing a railway car mounted upon a track-way, and a so-called trolley carried by the car and in contact with the working conductor. At the lower left hand corner the car is broken away in order to show a liquid reservoir and air compressing apparatus for maintaining a constant supply of liquid to the contact device. Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of a modified form of device for maintaining the liquid pressure in the contactdevice. Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the contact device; portions of the trolley arm and liquid feeding tube being shown in side elevation. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 1:, 0c, in Fig. 3, through the working conductor and contact device, and a rear eleva-' tion of the trolley arm,illustrating the means for maintaining the contact device in horizontal relation with the working conductor irrespective of the inclination of the trolley arm. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away, of the body I now prefer 'to employ in my contact device and which is brought into immediate relation with the workingconduotors. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional side view of said contact body, taken on the line y, y, in Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of said contact body, in horizontal section on the line 2, z, in Fig. 5.

10 represents a railway car of any suitable construction provided with an electro motor 11. Mounted upon the top of the car is a trolley arm or trailer 12, which is lifted at its outer end toward the conductor by spring pressure.

In carrying out my invention,any suitable form of trolley arm may be employed. Preferably I use such as shown, or one similar thereto and arranged on a'rotatable base. It may also be advantageous to provide that the trolley arm shall have a slight lateral swing.

This feature is not shown inthe-drawings and I have not considered it'necessary to do so as it forms no part of my invention.

Connected by a pivot or other suitable joint 13 to the end of the trolley arm is myimproved contact device 14:. The contact device consists of a vessel which may be made of conducting or non-conducting material, as desired, and may be given any shape which would be found practicable. Generally, I prefer to make it with a transversely concaved upper surface 15, as shown in Fig. Lo cated within this vessel, near the opposite ends thereof, are what I call the contact bodies 16, which also-preferably have a transversely concaved upper surface to enable them to more readily hold the working conductor 17, which is suitably connected in any approved manner to the source of energy. The contact bodies 16 project above the concavity ofthe vessel=15,so that when theyare in contact with the working conductor' l'fithe= vessel does not touch the conductor. The contact bodies 16 may'be formed of 'any material which may be saturated with a liquid' and keptmoist. In practice I have found thatthese bodies can bes'tbe made by taking alternatela'yers 18 of hardfelt and interpose between themlayers ltl of corrugated and per forated materiahsuch for instance as may be made from a fiexible celluloid. Instead of" using felt,-I may use asbestus clotl1- and cellu loid layers,orI may make the contact bodies whollyof felt, or I maymake them of sponge rubbeiyorof anyother material, as stated, which may be hept moist. The office otthese contactbodies is to produce a cushionbetween the vessel or contact device proper and the working conductor, andto bring the liquid within the cavityot the vessel intocontact' with the uvorkin'g conductor. The contact bodies are fitted within their vessel -in any approved manner allowing them to be readily renewed when worn out-by action onthe conductor.

Undercertainconditions it is possible to construct a contact device inwhich the liquid within the vessel is brought directlyinto con-f1 tactwith the working conductor, without em ployment of, whatI have called the contact 'bodies. But iupractice and in order to prevent the liquid within the vessel from being thrownout, it isbetter to employ the Contact bodies.

In etfecting electrical contact between the 'working' conductor and" the motor by-a liquid, I'may use-any liquid which is a-conductor of electricity. For practical purposesI tind that asolution of chloride of sodium twenty parts, and water eighty parts, is best adapted forthe purpose,as the addition of the chloride of sodi-, um ma/kes the water a better conducton'and further acts toipreventthewater from freez-l ing even in the coldest Weather. To fully providehowever against the contingency of freezing, I unake provision for moderately warmingtheliquid in theeontact vessel and also the contact bodies themselves. This maybeeffected in any practicable manner, but I show for this purpose aconductive wire coil 20, within the liquid in the vessel and con nected to the trolley arm to convey an electric current for preventing congealing of the liquid.

In place of using a liquid such as that above described, I may use a body of mercury, in which case it is preferable that the mercury should be brought into direct relation with the working conductor, and that the contact at or near each end of the bath shall be provided with devices for wiping the mercury 01% of the conductor, and thereby prevent the loss of mercury. I have not illustrated this feature, as I consider it a mere modification, and within the intent of the invention as claimed herein.

I do not claim broadly theuseof a liquid contact witha conductor, but a collector-of electricity for use'upon an electrically lpropelled vehicle to collect currentfroma working conductor to energize the electroanotive apparatus on the "vehicle, said collection of current'being accomplished th rough th e medium'of a suitableliquid in indir'ect contact withthe working conductor.

As the trolley arm issometimes drawn away fromthe-workingconductor and is-caused to assume a vertical position,it is necessary to provide means for retaining the major-or horizontal axis of the contact device perpendicular thereto. In order to accomplish this, I=provide the springs 21,22, each'of which' is connected at one end to the depending-portion 23 of thecont'a'ct vesseL'andattheother 'endto the trolley arm 12, to which thesaid depending portion is pivotally connected. Thesesprings exert 'their intluence in oppositediretionswith the result to arrangethe contact device at right angles *to the trolley arm. =I Iowever, as the arm commences to rise as soon as the contact leaves the wire, the said contact devicewill attain a perpendicular position with reference to the arm, approximately when the latter reaches its upright position. Insteadof using thes'e'springsfll may useany other form of devioeforaccom- .plishing the result, such for instance as a depending balance =lever. The oiiice of the springs '21, 22, is'not to hold the contact device horizoutal while bearing against "the workingconductor, at which time it isheld insuch positiondue to its pressure "against the said conductor. l1OWGV6i,l)l1lZ convenient inpractice.

The current collected through the body of liquid maybe conveyed to the motorthrough the liquid, but as this increases the resistance of thecircuit, itis preterable toconne'ct the trolley arm with suit-able wires 2i embedded in the lowerpart-ofthecontact body 16. In the casewhere the vessel is made of metal the wires 24 will be connected thereto,bu't when the vessel is made of insulated material these wires 2t willibeconnected through suitable wires'25 with the trolley arm, and as indicated by dotted lines inFig. 3 of-the drawings. By this means the only resistance This is not necessary ICC ITO

which is interposed "in the circuit, other than that which is usual in the ordinary forms of metallic trolley contacts, is that due to the body of liquid included between the working conductor and the upper ends of the wires 24. To maintain a fluid pressure within the contact vessel and thus keep the contact bodies 16 moist, I provide the reservoir 26, air pressure pump 27, and communicating pipe 28. 29 is a registering air' pressu re valve on the platform. When the car is started, the conductor manipulates the lever 30 until a certain definitely determined pressure is created in the reservoir 26, which forces the liquid through the pipe 28 into the cavity of the contact vessel and thence into the interspaces in the contact body 16, and by said body or bodies the liquid is brought into electrical contact with the working conductor 17. Instead of using this device, I may use that shown in Fig. 2 where the air pressure is maintained by means of a counter weighted piston 31, which falls by gravity within the air compressing cylinder 32, which connects with the liquid reser voir 26.

I have described my improved contact device as located on top of the vehicle. It will be evident to those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs, that the contact device may bear any relation to the vehicle. In case the contact device is carried below the vehicle, it will not be necessary to carry the air device for maintaining the requisite feed ing pressure, as the liquid in that case will be supplied by its own gravity.

It will be observed that by the employment of my improved contact making device, I need only to provide means for establishing electrical relation between the Working conductor and the motor, and that the contact is antifrictional, self-lubricating and cooling; and that heating and the formation of sparks which act destructively are avoided.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, and a liquid contact device carried by and moving with the vehicle and adapted to establish electrical contact between said working conductor and the electro-motive apparatus on the vehicle.

2. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, and a liquid contact device carried by and moving with the vehicle and adapted to make underneath contact with said conductor.

3. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, a contact device carried by the vehicle, comprising a conductor connected at one end to the motor on the vehicle and extending from the vehicle to the immediate proximity of the working conductor, a body of liquid interposed between said working conductor and the conductor from the motor, and in contact with both,'and a suitable device for carrying the liquid.

4.. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, a trolley arm mounted on the vehicle, and a contact device on the end of said arm carrying a body of liquid adapted to be brought into electrical relation with and to establish electrical contact between the working conductor and the motor upon the vehicle.

5. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, a trolley arm mounted on the vehicle,

means for imparting a constant inclination in one direction to the arm, anda liquid contact device upon the end of the arm adapted to establish electrical contact between the arm'and the working conductor. I

6. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, a trolley arm carried'by the vehicle a contact device carrying a body of liquid on a working conductor, an electro motive V6hicle, a liquid contact device carried by the vehicle, and means forming a portion of said device whereby the liquid therein is brought into indirect electrical relation with the working conductor.

9. In electric railways, the combination ofa working conductor, an electro motive vehi-' cle, a liquidcontact device carried by said vehicle, and means for maintaining the bod of liquid in said contact device. Y

10. A liquid contact device for electric railways, comprising a closed vessel, a body of liquid therein, and means communicating between the interior and exterior of said vessel and of such character as to be constantly saturated by the liquid contained in the vessel. 11. A contact device for electric railways, comprising a vessel, a body of liquid therein, and a renewable device adapted to be constantly saturated by said body of liquid and to take current from the working conductor. 12. A contact device for electric railways, comprising a closed vessel, a body of liquid therein, a device communicating between the interior and exterior of said vessel and adapted to be saturated by the said liquid, and means for maintaining said saturated portion of said contact device in electrical relation with a conductor from the source of energy. 13. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, and an anti-frictional current collecting IIO device carried by the vehicleand arranged to lubricate itsbearing against the'working conductor, through its contact points.

14:. In electric railways, thecornbination of a working conductor, an electromotive =vehicle, a current collecting devicecarried by the vehicle, and means forming apart of said contact device for lubricating and cooling the contact between said device and the working conductor.

15. In electric railways, the combination of a working conductor, an electro motive vehicle, and aliquid anti-freezing eontactdevice carried by said vehicle.

16. Thehereindescribedmethod of estab: lishingielectrical connection between afixed conductor and the electromotive apparatus of an electrically propelled vehicle, which 

